I'm an involved longtime windsurfer... but live in Seattle, Wa. so I won't be there
But, I certainly remember reading about this famous event, back in the day, over many years.
I was just cruising around iwindsurf, reading various things... and came across this thread.
So, out of curiosity (cause I'm not that familiar with the New England area) I googled Buzzards Bay... to see "where" it is... and the size of it.

So now a couple questions for you all, that know about this event -
* Is it a 1-way crossing or is it round-trip?
* What city, or park, beach, area do you sail from... And to, on the other side? Just a general area is fine (city)... something that I could easily google.
* What's the typical wind direction... and possible/likely wind strength?
* Approx. distance, in a straight line.
* Curious if it's mostly a beam reach crossing... or if there's up and down wind sailing, you have to do.
* How about a guess of approx. distance sailed... and time it takes.

Thanks for any info
We have a local distance event we do out here as well. But, it's mostly just a bunch of friends, never written about in Windsurfing Mags (not famous

Anyway, good luck with it... wishing you great weather !!
Greg -

PS - My thoughts and prayers to all those in the Boston area, and everyone everywhere... affected by the senseless and horrific events at the race yesterday.

In the 80's, we raced a round trip, launching from Old Silver Beach to a mark just off from Cleveland Light (a small island across the Bay to the north) and then back -or something close to that.

Typical winds would be SW, so port out and starboard back, but that SW machine usually doesn't set up until mid-June when the Bermuda High parks for a few months. A common alternative would be NW after a low passes. SE isn't that common that late in the spring.

Waves can be large, with big swells rolling up the Bay. I'm unsure about exact times, but in over 10 knots it can be done in under an hour on a longboard. I think distance point to point is about 26 miles. That's all based on faded memories._________________Support Your Sport. Join US Windsurfing!
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I could find Old Silver Beach... but not Cleveland Light?
However from your description... I see... if it's a SW wind, and you sail first on a port reach... they you're sailing from the east side of the Bay. And that helped me find Old Silver Beach.
And although I couldn't find Cleveland Light across the bay... I did find a very small island just off the south tip of Kittanset Golf Club point... so maybe that's it. From your sailing description... it sounds about right.
And your guess of maybe approx. 26 miles roundtrip... seems to be in the ballpark, for that.

And yes, I could see how some big swells could roll down that bay with a good SW wind.

But wait... if it's approx. 26 miles... and you can do it in less than an hour... that means you're averaging over 26 mph, all the way over and back? Is that right? That would be a very high avg speed. And I don't think "that" could be done in winds "just over 10 knots".
(Well, maybe Nevin could do it... but certainly NOT me

Anyway, thanks for the info from faded memories... I totally understand that. I'm not picking on the details... and I appreciate the general info.
Greg

According to Google Earth, the distance between Old Silver Beach and the little island is 5 miles. Roughly the same as a trip from Avon out to the reef, so perfectly doable.

Average longboard speeds would probably be around 15 mph. Slalom board speeds would be maybe 20, except for Josh. But he might have to go around the course twice to keep things even, just like at the ECWF .

I vote for a reaching/slalom type of race...just more fun IMHO, and how many of us own a longboard with dagger or Formula board that is suited to a race with substantial upwind work? It's a blast shooting across the Bay on a full plane on a floaty freeride board. Have to hope for a SW wind to make this a reality though.

I've posted a map with landmarks below. Having done many crossings (solo, with a few friends, and with races) I can think of two key issues:

1. Being able to find your way to the turn around point on the other side: (You just can't see that far to know where to go.)
Having an intermediate point like Cleveland Ledge Light makes it much easier to see the other side landmark and race committee boat over there.

2. Wind direction is key to selecting an appropriate course if it's gonna be achievable without lots of upwind work:
I always like to do my upwind on the way out, so the way back is easy. Better to know that you're not making headway upwind and simply return to the beach, rather than find out you're in trouble on the return trip, when you have no option but to struggle to get back (or turn in on unknown shores, or get rescued). Of course those with Formula boards or longboards would not be so sensitive to this issue.

Using for example a couple of far side landmarks: if wind classic SW then the red nun off Strawberry Pt. Mattapoisett makes a good turn around point. The (slight) upwind would be from Cleveland Ledge to the nun. If more WSW then Bird Island Light in Marion is good, or perhaps something a bit more upwindish like Converse Point Marion.

In '89, the one year I did it, I remember the course starting with a windward/leeward triangle course and on our second rounding of the windward mark, it was off to Bird Island. If you couldn't finish the triangle, you weren't heading across.

I was ill prepared for sailing in the troughs and peaks of the swells. No wind in the deep troughs and over powered going over the crests. By the time I got into the swing of things on the way across, the first of the pros were zipping along east bound on the faces of the swells, all I could see were the mast tips just over the top of the swell as they flew by. There may have been a short upwind finish as well._________________NY30

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